Britta Marakatt-Labba

Britta Marakatt-Labba
Britta Marakatt-Labba at the Gannevik Talks in 2015
Born (1951-09-18) 18 September 1951 (age 73)
Idivuoma, Karesuando, Sweden
NationalitySwedish
Known for
  • textile artist
  • painter
  • graphic artist
Websitebrittaml.se

Britta Margareta Marakatt-Labba (born 18 September 1951 in Idivuoma, Karesuando, Sweden) is a Swedish Sámi textile artist, painter, graphic artist, and a member of the Máze Group.

Early life and education

Marakatt-Labba is one of nine children born into a reindeer-herding family. When she was five, her father Johannes Marakatt died, leaving her mother Anna Maria Nutti to raise nine children by herself.[1] She studied at Sunderby Folk High School (Swedish: Sunderby folkhögskola) from 1971 to 1973. From 1974 to 1978, Marakatt-Labba studied at the Art Industrial School (Swedish: Konstindustriskolan) in Gothenburg, Sweden from which she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Textile Art. From 1999 to 2002, she studied at the Sámi University of Applied Sciences in Kautokeino, Norway.

In 2014, she received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Arts at Umeå University.[2]

Career

While Marakatt-Labba works with numerous types of media, it is primarily her narrative embroidery using motifs from the Sámi culture and mythology that she is known for around the world. In addition to textiles, she works with watercolors and lithographs. She has also illustrated numerous books and designed costumes and sets for plays.[3]

In connection with the Álta conflict in the 1970s, Marakatt-Labba created the embroidered narrative Garjját (The Crows), which depicted crows landing downhill from Sámi protestors sitting outside of their goahti and turning into black-clad policemen as they marched up the hill to the protestors.[1] She joined the Máze Group: the Sámi Artists’ Group in 1978[4] and was involved in creating the Sami Artists' Union founded a year later in 1979.

From 2003 to 2007, Marakatt-Labba created a piece entitled Historjá that tells the history and mythology of the Sámi people. This epic 23.5 m long textile artwork[5] is normally displayed in the Non-Experimental Sciences building at the University of Tromsø,[1][6] although it has also been exhibited as part of documenta 14 in Kassel, Germany in 2017.[7]

Awards

Bibliography

  • Jan-Erik Lundström (ed.): Broderade berättelser. Britta Marakatt-Labba, Koncentrat, Kiruna 2010, ISBN 978-91-633-7248-3

References

  1. ^ a b c Blindh, IngaBritt (May 8, 2009). "Mästare på att berätta med stygn" [Master of telling stories with stitches]. samer.se (in Swedish). Samiskt informationscentrum. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  2. ^ "Honorary doctors". umu.se. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  3. ^ "Mon lea duhát jagi". ellesofe.com. Elle Sofe. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  4. ^ "Deaivvadeapmi Mázes, ulbmiliin ásahit ođđasit Mázejoavkku dálu". samediggi.no (in Northern Sami). Norwegian Sámi Parliament. September 21, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  5. ^ Horsberg Hansen, Hanna. "Sámi Artist Group (Keviselie/Hans Ragnar Mathisen, Britta Marakatt-Labba, Synnøve Persen) (excerpt from documenta 14: Daybook)". documenta14. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "Artist: Britta Marakatt-Labba 21.10.2017 – 30.09.2018". nnkm.no. Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  7. ^ Great Women Artists. Phaidon Press. 2019. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-7148-7877-5.
  8. ^ "Arkiverade kopian" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  9. ^ "Hon får Asa Kitokstipendiet" [She will receive the Asa Kitok Scholarship] (in Swedish). February 3, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  10. ^ "Stipendium till hyllad samisk konstnär" [Scholarship to acclaimed Sámi artist] (in Swedish). September 25, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  11. ^ "Kiruna Konstgille: Bilder från Britta Marakatt-Labbas vernissage". kirunakonstgille.blogspot.se (in Swedish). Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  12. ^ "De får Per Gannevik-stipendiet". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). 12 May 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  13. ^ "John Savio-prisen til Britta Marakatt-Labba Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum". nnkm.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  14. ^ Ramberg, Ida (2017-10-20). "UiT-kunstner får medalje for samisk kunst". itromso.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  15. ^ TT (May 23, 2018). "Marakatt-Labba får VK:s kulturpris" [Marakatt-Labba to receive the VK cultural award]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  16. ^ "Annual Award". dagerman.us. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  17. ^ "Kungen delade ut Prins Eugen‑medaljen". Kungahuset (in Swedish). Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.